Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia restarted mining operations at its Chingola B mine, which had been shut down for 18 years. As part of the Nchanga mine complex, the Chingola B mine is expected to produce over 200,000 mt of ore per month. KCM is 79.4% owned by Vedanta Resources and 20.6% by Zambia's state-owned investment company ZCCM-IH, and operates mines and processing plants in Chingola, Chililabombwe, Kitwe, and Nampundwe.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,508/mt, dipped to $13,454.5/mt early in the session, then the price center gradually shifted upward, reaching $13,620/mt near the end of the session, and finally closed at $13,610/mt, down 0.33%, with trading volume at 17,000 lots and open interest at 273,000 lots, an increase of 143 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bears adding positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 104,000 yuan/mt, touched a low of 103,620 yuan/mt right after the opening, then the price center edged up with small fluctuations and reached a high of 104,250 yuan/mt, finally moving sideways to close at 104,100 yuan/mt, up 0.06%, with trading volume at 34,000 lots and open interest at 162,000 lots, an increase of 1,224 lots from the previous trading day, indicating bulls adding positions.

Data from the online customs statistics query platform showed that China's imports of tin ore and concentrates in April 2026 totaled 15,720.18 mt, down 15.04% MoM and up 59.25% YoY. China imported 5,677.67 mt of tin ore and concentrates from Myanmar in April, down 22.17% MoM and up 139.38% YoY. China imported 2,879.89 mt of tin ore and concentrates from the DRC in April, up 8.84% MoM and up 3.11% YoY. Exports side, China's exports of tin ore and concentrates in April 2026 totaled 0.01 mt, up 22.22% MoM and up 450.00% YoY. China exported 0.01 mt of tin ore and concentrates to the Netherlands in April, up 250.00% MoM. China exported 0 mt of tin ore and concentrates to the UK in April, down 42.86% MoM and up 100.00% YoY. Below is a breakdown of import data compiled from the General Administration of Customs website: Origin April 2026 (mt) MoM YoY Myanmar 5,677.67 -22.17% 139.38% DRC 2,879.89 8.84% 3.11% Bolivia 2,427.32 -33.01% 198.42% Australia 1,263.60 -19.51% -16.57% Nigeria 1,239.55 -4.85% 14.34% Russia 527.7 689.53% - Malaysia 460.99 89.71% 98.18% Rwanda 263.55 -10.85% 162.18% Laos 162.38 -59.02% 205.02% Vietnam 156.88 139.38% -30.82% Kyrgyzstan 149.38 -15.84% -33.90% Venezuela 143.56 -61.86% 16.64% Brazil 120.39 -31.04% - Thailand 74.34 180.57% 955.38% Colombia 58.8 25.68% 7.08% Indonesia 44.83 -52.31% -51.07% Burundi 26.48 - - Tanzania 23.96 193.87% -50.07% Zambia 17.77 -46.28% -40.09% North Korea 1.16 - - Total 15,720.18 -15.04% 59.25% Data source: General Administration of Customs Below is a breakdown of export data compiled from the General Administration of Customs website: Destination April 2026 (mt) MoM YoY Total 0.01 22.22% 450.00% Data source: General Administration of Customs (Wenhua Consolidated)

On May 19, Sinomine Resource Group Co., Ltd. issued an announcement stating that it plans to issue A-shares to specific qualified investors, raising a total amount of approximately 5.2 billion yuan through the private placement. The maximum number of shares to be issued is 216,447,563, not exceeding 30% of the company's total share capital before the issuance. The fund-raising investment projects for this private placement focus on Sinomine Resource's main business, including the annual 100,000-ton lithium sulfate project in Zimbabwe, the Kitumba copper mine project in Zambia, and the annual 2,000-ton cesium-rubidium product project of Jiangxi Sinomine Advanced Materials Co., Ltd.

In April 2026, China's copper cathode import and export market exhibited a clear pattern of "rising imports and falling exports.

SMM Analysis: According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China imported 72,700 mt of copper anode (HS code: 74020000) in April 2026, up 5.64% MoM and down 2.10% YoY...